Iced Pumpkin Cookies

It's Secret Recipe Club time again and this one is the last one we will be participating in since we will be taking a break from the blog at the end of the year.  This month its Jessie Weaver's blog - a grace filled life of faith, family and food.  Jessie writes about a little of everything - spiritual things, parenting, books she has read and food she makes. I especially liked her monthly book reviews.  I have always wished I could read 4 or 5 books a month like she does. Usually I get to read a few pages a night before falling asleep so it takes me all month to read one book.

When I saw that her husband's favorite cookie  was the iced pumpkin cookies and it was pumpkin season I knew that would be my choice.  They did not disappoint!  They are soft and chewy and the brown sugar icing makes them very sweet which goes well with the pumpkin cookie.  Even though we are definitely a "chocolate" family everyone liked them.

Ingredients:
Cookie:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie)

Icing:
1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together in a small bowl the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In a medium bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes).  Add egg, vanilla and canned pumpkin.  Mix until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined.

Drop rounded teaspoons onto the prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Make icing by combining the butter, milk, brown sugar, confectioners sugar and vanilla extract.
Beat until smooth and the right consistency for spreading on the cooled cookies.

Enjoy!!

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Asian Meatballs with Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles

Time for another round of Secret Recipe Club and most likely one of our last since we will be stopping the blog at the end of the year. This month we were assigned Amy's Cooking Adventures. I know most of you probably picked a fall dessert or something festive for Halloween to feature today but I was looking for a new idea for dinner. Amy has plenty to choose from but for some reason her Asian Turkey Meatballs Over Easy Thai Noodles caught my eye and it ended up being delicious, easy to make and a perfect change of pace for us to have last week for dinner.

Ingredients for Asian Meatballs:

1 1/4lb Ground Turkey

1/4 Cup Panko

1 Large Egg

2 Garlic Cloves - Minced

3 Green Onions - White and Green parts Diced

1 Tbsp Lime Juice

1 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds

1 Tsp Fresh Ginger - Minced

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles:

3 Packages of Chicken Flavored Ramen

1 1/4 Cup Water 

1/4 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1/3 Cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter

3 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Corn Starch

2 Garlic Cloves - Minced

1 Red Pepper - Diced

1 Large Carrot - Diced

1 Tsp Fresh Ginger - Minced

3 Green Onions - White and Green parts Diced

10oz Package Frozen Plain Sugar Snap Peas

1 Tbsp Canola Oil

Start by preheating your oven to 425 F, place parchment paper on a jelly roll baking tray and set aside. In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs. Using your hands mix everything together.

Form your meatballs and arrange them on the baking sheet. Bake about 18 minutes until light brown. I made mine a little larger than Amy and only made 16 instead of 24 but it doesn't matter as long as you try and keep them even so their cooking time is similar. 

In a medium sized bowl combine all of your ingredients for the peanut sauce (peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, corn starch, water, crushed red pepper flakes and brown sugar) Whisk together and set aside.

In your largest pan heat up the oil and saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes until they are tender but still slightly crisp. When they are ready takes them off the heat and place them in a bowl. Return the pan to the stove over medium heat and thicken the peanut sauce while stirring frequently.  While the sauce is cooking quickly prepare the packages of Ramen according to the package but only using 1 flavor package as you drain the noddles of their cooking water.

Add the noodles, vegetables and the cooked meatballs into the thickened sauce. Using some tongs toss everything together so that it has a nice coating of sauce on it. Serve the meatballs on top the bed of peanut butter Ramen and vegetables immediately.

Enjoy!!

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White Chocolate Blueberry Macadamia Nut Cookies

This month for Secret Recipe Club we were assigned 2 Cookin Mamas. They are a mother/daughter duo just like Nicole and I are and are both living in Florida. I have looked at their blog many times since they were assigned us two months ago so I was very happy when we got them this month as our assignment. They had a bunch of great things I wanted to make like the Healthy & Fruity Waldorf Salad which reminded me of what my grandmother used to make and the Banana Upside Down Cake which looked delicious.  But I decided to try the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies because I've never made anything with Macadamia nuts before and I haven't made cookies in a while. The family loved them. They make plenty of healthy dishes to try but you know how I love desserts.  

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening (I substituted cream cheese)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz. white chocolate chips
5 oz. macadamia nuts, chopped
4 oz. blueberry craisins (I added to recipe)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease sheets lightly.
In a large bowl beat butter and cream cheese until creamy.  Gradually add sugars and beat until well mixed.
Continue beating while adding the egg and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.

Gradually add this mixture to butter/sugar mixture and continue beating until well mixed. Stir in white chocolate chips, chopped macadamia nuts and blueberry craisins.

Drop by rounded teaspoons 2" apart on prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on cookie sheets and then move to racks.

Enjoy!!

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Inside Out Carrot Cake Muffins

This month for Secret Recipe Club we were given the blog Secrets from the Cookie Princess. Colleen is a mom from Massachusetts who loves to bake treats and sweets but don't let the name of her blog deceive you she has way more than just cookies to share with everyone. I chose to make her Inside Out Carrot Cake Muffins and they didn't disappoint. She uses Fiori di Sicilia in her cream cheese filling. I had never even heard of it before so I looked it up online and is an Italian extract that combines Orange and Vanilla flavors together. I used just plain Vanilla extract as a substitute.

Ingredients for Muffins:
2 1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar - Packed
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
3/4 Tsp Ginger
3/4 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Water
1/3 Cup Canola Oil
1 Cup Shredded Carrots

Ingredients for Filling:
8 oz Reduced Fat Cream Cheese - Softened
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat the oven to 400. Put liners in the cupcake tin and set aside. In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, both sugars, salt, spices, baking soda and baking powder) and whisk them together.

Add the wet ingredients (eggs, water, oil) into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix them together. Shred the carrots into the batter and gently mix them in until just combined.

To make the filling in a small bowl combine the softened cream cheese with the sugar and the vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.

In the cupcake liners put a half scoop of batter in the bottom. Put a heaping Tsp of filling on top of the batter. Cover the filling with another scoop of the batter so that it is completely covered.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, the tops will be firm. Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then on a baking rack for about 15 minutes. Be careful if you are having a muffin right away as the filling will be very hot.

Enjoy!!

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Sticky Toffee Pudding

For this month's Secret Recipe Club we were assigned Searching For Spice.  Corina is in the UK and loves cooking with different spices. She cooks all kinds of Mexican, Indian and Thai food. I immediately look at the desserts because that's what I love to make and eat. Sticky toffee pudding is an English dessert which we had while in London two years ago and we also had a delicious version of the pudding in the Grand Cayman Islands.  So when I saw that was one of her recipes I picked it immediately as I was always going to make it once I got home from vacation. They call it a pudding but this is more like a cake that you soak with caramel sauce so its soft but not really a pudding at all.  And since the recipe makes extra sauce you have to put ice cream on top so you can pour the sauce all over it.  I know I will be making this again.  Corina uses European measurements so I changed things up a little.  I also added chopped dates which she didn't because her husband didn't like them.      

Ingredients:
CAKE
6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
6 ounces Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1 cup hot water
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

SAUCE
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray PAM around a 2-1/2 quart baking dish.  Place chopped and pitted dates in a bowl, pour hot water over them and let soak for 15 minutes.  Stir in baking soda.

Beat together with a mixer on medium-high speed the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy about 3 minutes.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

Reduce speed to medium and beat in eggs one at a time until thoroughly mixed.

Reduce speed to low and add 1/2 of the flour mixture, beating until combined.  Add the date mixture and then the remaining flour mixture. Beat until just combined.  Transfer batter to prepared dish.

Bake until cake is puffed and springs back in center when gently pressed with a finger about 25-30 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the sauce.   In a saucepan combine the butter, brown sugar and heavy cream. Bring to a boil over high heat.  Do not let the sauce boil over.  Stir frequently until the sauce thickens and darkens about 4 minutes.  

Remove cake from oven and pierce holes all along the edges and middle.  I used one chopstick and that was the perfect size to make holes for the sauce.  Pour half of the hot sauce over the cake and let soak for 20 minutes.

Serve cake warm with remaining warmed sauce poured over ice cream.  Cake and sauce can be stored at room temperature for one day.

Enjoy!!



Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

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